Preah Khan Temple, Siem Reap

Day 1 Click HERE

Day 2 Click HERE

Day 3 Click HERE

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Destination: Siem Reap, Cambodia

Duration: 5D4N, 14 Feb to 18 Feb 2019

Mode of Travel: Self-organised.  We had 3 private vans for transport and local guide (www.facebook.com/Jeepxplr) who's now a very dear friend to us
Flight: Jetstar

Hotel: Khmer Mansion Boutique Hotel (Apsara Double Pool View Suite - $379) and one night at Khmer Mansion Residence

www.khmermansionresidence.com

Weather: Warm and dry around 30°C

Currency: USD most of the time though Cambodian Riel can be use

Time difference: 1 hour behind Singapore

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

17.02.2019

Tuesday Report filming crews and some team members went Angkor Wat around 5pm to catch the sunrise.

Had to go separate ways cos I needed (seriously needed) to explore other temples other than Angkor Wat.  If you need to know more about this main temple, click HERE for my 2015 visit and click HERE for 2017.

Up at 8am was definitely less torturous lolxx...

Wearing the krama (cambodian scarf) Khmer Mansion Residence gave.

I ate half the sandwich and kept half in my bag in case I got hungry in the middle of the temple.

I was very very excited for this temples hopping.  I had waited so long (so many years) for this opportunity.

Chhay had arranged a guide specially for me, a young handsome one, heehee.... I happy ;P  We were on the road at 8.30am.

We stopped by in the middle of the road to get some lotus seeds.

It was USD1.

So much tourists walking towards Preah Khan Temple.

Preah Khan means "Holy Sword" was built as a Buddhist temple in 1191 by a King to honor his father.

This is the main entrance, easily identified with 3 towers.

Within the area is approx 56 hectares.  Found this map on the website.

Map from www.orientalarchitecture.com/sid/26/cambodia/angkor/preah-khan-temple

Like other temples, many status (Buddha or not) were being beheaded and destroyed by King of Jayavarman VIII between year 1245 - 1295. as he was a hindu.  It's such a sad history, also a complicating one...

I kept looking at the ceiling of the tower, the structure was amazing to me, I had no idea how they stacked up the stones to form a roof.

I decided to skip the Visitor Center and moved ahead.

Morning rays became rainbow through the lens.


I could imagine the scenario:
The worker was ordered to destroy all buddha sculptures.  The slave/servant actually wasn't able to identify between human and buddha sculptures but dare not ask, so he blur blur chiseled off the sculpture on the left.

The supervisor inspecting around saw what he was doing, gave a big slap on his head, scolded him for wasting time, pulled him away when he was half done with the sculpture on the right.  That's my imagine lah, what actually had happened nobody knows...

Artwork from 800 years ago.

The dark brown stones against pale sand stones caught my attention.


My guide told me they were called Laterite stones which was used as a strong structure of the temples and that there were more at the base which we couldn't see.

An entrance which couldn't be entered with fallen stones inside...

Not sure how long these intricate carvings can withstand weather and time.

There were many visitors in Preah Khan Temple, so when I found a cleared area, quickly request for a pic.

The guide told me the ropes were tied into these holes during transporting of these stone slabs.

The holes appeared in random, some areas with more, some area less.  I was told some holes were placed inwards against another stone so they were out of sight.

Some sand stones in shades of pink.

They called this the Stupa of Central Sanctuary, a place for meditate.

I took many photos of the ceilings cos I was puzzled and amazed.

I was told there used to be water here for prayers to cleanse their hands/faces.

Upon some research while doing this blog I think I had missed out or forgotten to take photos of a few important areas in Preah Khan Temple.  We spend about 1 and half hours in this temple but didn't manage to complete all sections of the temple.

I think I will have to make another trip here to fill up the missing parts.  It's so expensive though, my knees are going to cry T___T

While I had missed some areas, we walked through the South Gopura which I didn't see any other tourists.  Cos the exit was semi obstructed.

(My guide carried my red sling bag all the way, heehee... so nice of him right?)

South temple was very badly destroyed, which was also why nobody walked over here I guess.

Passing through the South Gopura was this breath taking sight.......  I was totally surprised!

Huge headless statue of an Asura and I couldn't find any photos of this online.

The man made canal was abandon but nature took care of it.

The water reflected like a mirror, very stunning.

After being stunned, a not so fun 2km trail ahead lolxx..

I was bored, so we took selfies.

The path was endless, my ankle hated me and I hated my ankle too, so I couldn't speed up.

The end of this path leaded to Ta Nei Temple which I will do another post.

After this, will take a couple of days off from my laptop.  Need to sell off some things to get some money back.  Even a church mouse is richer than me now.  My ex-nail salon is now my sons' hobby room.  I am trying to make it neater and more comfortable for the boys to stay in, got some DIY fixtures to do...  Very busy housewife I am lolxx...

Thanks for reading and being with me.

Siem Reap with Tuesday Report Day 3

Day 1 Click HERE

Day 2 Click HERE

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Destination: Siem Reap, Cambodia

Duration: 5D4N, 14 Feb to 18 Feb 2019

Mode of Travel: Self-organised.  We had 3 private vans for transport and local guide (www.facebook.com/Jeepxplr) who's now a very dear friend to us
Flight: Jetstar

Hotel: Khmer Mansion Boutique Hotel (Apsara Double Pool View Suite - $379) and one night at Khmer Mansion Residence

www.khmermansionresidence.com

Weather: Warm and dry around 30°C

Currency: USD most of the time though Cambodian Riel can be use

Time difference: 1 hour behind Singapore

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

16.02.2019

Breakfast at 7am in hotel.

We ordered different stuffs, then our forks went to different plates to eat.  You are looking at baguette sandwich and pancakes.

We set off at 8.30am with most scenery like this throughout an hour.

Jamie and I stick to each other.  She's only P2 but same height as me lolxx...

Getting along with a child is much easier than an adult.  I feel that the more I speak, the more I get rebuke in adult world.  But a child will accept me the way I am, as long as I care for her.

We took a lot of silly selfies to kill time.

Our van reached Trapang Svay School first.  The filming crews' van was being stopped by the local police and was held up.  The children lined up and waited for us.  We told them to get in first, but they waited under the sun.  Heart pain, cos it was very very hot out there.

The filming crews arrived and wasted no time.

The founder lead the group, her face distorted from controlling her tears.

Some children were waving flags with Inspiring Stars' logo.

My face was probably just as distorted as my sis, I wanted to cry.  Conscious of the camera in front, I swallowed back and the hard lump of air got stuck in the throat for a long long time.   The children were so sweet, the hand made flags touched me deeply.

The main entrance of the school is still mud path.

The stainless plaque was still good.

We mounted it on 2016.

They are slowly tiling up some areas.

The school already gotten tables for us to load items.

Now the kitchen is more proper.

This was 2016, stoves over shelter without walls.

Porridge boiling, camera rolling...

While everybody was busy, I noticed the wall.

One of the translator told me WFP stands for World Food Programme.  Trapang Svay School is aided by this international community as well.

The community helps to achieve food security and improve nutrition for third world countries or areas that needed help.  I found their website, you can click HERE to find out more.

Cooked and all put into nice pots!

During my visit in 2016, porridge were put in plastic pails and the children use plastic or ceramic bowls (many were chipped), those without had to use disposable foam bowls.

Now each student have their own stainless steel plate, so clean and it's safer.  I didn't ask, but I think it's probably sponsored by WFP.

One of my team mate went crying when she saw those stainless steel plates.  Another one was weeping and smiling at the same time.  Sounded very silly, only we knew that kind of overwhelming emotions.  We were really happy for the children.

This part was not on screen.  I was scooping veg with my hands, I got wash my hands hor, lolxx...

Chhay, our local coordinator, what are we going to do without him....

He is such a nice guy and he is going to be a father again in Sep!

Nom nom...

After the meal they washed their own plates.

And put them back on the rack.

Finally took a closer look at the hand made flags with so much gratitude.

They made a slit on the bamboo, kiap the paper in between and tighten back with a rubber band.

Appreciate it so much.... feel like crying again while typing this......

The Chief appointed a team member to concentrate on taking photos.  She so nice, gotten so many pics of me, heehee...

So cute right!  Caught 2 happy little boys looking and touching the gifts we bought for them.

Our tote bag was so big on this cute lower primary student.

There was this little girl, who apparently remembered one of my team mate, went to her and make a heart.  My this team mate's eyes were welled with tears and sparkled with joy when she showed us this photo.  We all went awwwwwww...........

We could be from different countries, we hardly know each other, but there's so much love....  Everything was worth it T___T  This trip was very emo, all behind the film, only we knew the real experience....

Still using black boards and chalks, with more and more teaching aids on wall.

放学咯！

Mega group pic with the entire school.

And bye bye!

My kid sis bought the whole tray of kuey from the seller outside the school and distribute to the villagers.

Cambodians are very conservative and shy.  They may be poor but sometimes they hesitate to take things from us.  They will be like "For me?  Really??"

Other then distributing usual pre-love clothings, some food and toiletries, we brought undergarments for females.  Mixture of old and new for bras, brand new for panties.

We agar agar measure them and distribute in a classroom discreetly.  This part was not filmed, heehee....

We had the same porridge for lunch.

Also a treat from the school, coconut juice.

Mission accomplished.  We went to buy tickets to Angkor Wat and those not visiting the temples went back to the hotel.

I may be repeating myself but it's a important information especially for new readers:

You have to purchase the entrance ticket at Angkor Ticket Office which is away (far away) from the temples.

Add: Corner of Apsara Road and Road 60

Opening hours: 4.30am to 5pm daily

It's getting really expensive and I will be done with it after this.

1 day USD 37, 3 days USD62, 7 days USD72

Also you have to come PERSONALLY to purchase your ticket, cos they will take your big head photo on the spot and had it printed on your ticket.

I hate my droopy mouth, haiz...  Anyway, as such, the ticket is non-transferable.

My sisters and Chhay's family continued with filming.

Others rest in the hotel and a few of  us became monkeys on the loose lolxx...

I dragged a few kakis to New Leaf Cafe for high-tea.

Add: Kratie Monk, Krong Siem Reap 17252, Cambodia

This was a quiet nice place away from Pub Street but it's less than a minute's walk from there.  They were closed during my previous trip, I was so sad.

Glad that my friends like my recommendation and these were what we had:

Spicy Green Mango Salad USD4

Pumpkin & Coconut Soup USD3.50

Mango Sticky Rice USD3.50

Everything was good and enjoyable but this was a big WOW.  We had to order another serving.  The glutinous rice was warm infused with coconut milk.  This is the BEST Mango Sticky Rice I had eaten.  Surprisingly not in BKK but in Siem Reap.

After high-tea we swing over to the wet market.

Not sure if this was avocado, if it was, it's humongous!

It's like Singapore's wet market in the 1980s.

Had this urge to buy salted fish.

There were some stalls selling cooked food.

These were like 2 inches big, those at NTUC were less than 2cm!

One stall selling something like our Yong Tau Foo.

I was trying to look for ornaments but didn't find anything suitable.

Was hesitating to go back hotel or join my friends to walk to Starbucks which was about 2km away.

I got nothing to do even if I went back hotel, so die die lah...

We walked pass the main entrance of Wat Preah Prom Rath along the main road.

For the location, use the same address as New Leaf Cafe ba, the side entrance of the temple it's just opposite and you won't miss it.

So all along I had been entering from the side gate without knowing.

I finally knew the story behind this temple.  However I had missed the reclining Buddha, I'll be back anyway.

I had been into this temple in 2016.  For photos, click HERE.

We talked a lot of rubbish, walked pass many lanes, a few hotels, and a few interesting restaurants.  My legs so gonna break and finally....

Starbucks, at The Heritage Walk Mall

Add: G/F The Heritage Walk, #158National Road 6, Mondul 2 Village, Svay Dongkum Commune, Siem Reap

My friend bought their Siem Reap mugs/bottles as collectibles, expensive hobby to me lolxx...

Main entrance of The Heritage Walk Mall with  CNY cum Valentine's decoration.

The quiet mall had a big Miniso which we most time there.

Mozzy bats so cool looking that my friends bought 3 in total.  Little did we know it's not allowed to bring to plane, check in also cannot :(

There's a cinema here, some retails, a huge kiddy play house and restaurants.

Couldn't believe there's KOI in Siem Reap!!  Price cheaper than Singapore by a few coins, nevertheless, we went to slurp the calories, happy.  Couldn't remember which floor it was but the mall wasn't big, very easy to find.

Sun set liao.

We took tuk tuk back.  We gave the drivers our hotel's name and address, they gave us a blank look.  So we told them to drive us to Pub Street, problem solved.

From Pub Street, walk 2mins back to Khmer Mansion Boutique Hotel.

The whole team gathered and the vans drove us to a vegetarian restaurant for dinner.

Vitking House Vegetarian Restaurant

Add: Street 24 Between Brown and Temple Coffee, Wat Bo Village, Sala Kamreuk District, Cambodia

It's big and spacious, very crowded when we arrived.  By the time we start our dinner around 9pm, most people were done and left,

There's a map here if it helps.

While waiting for food, we cuddle the restaurant's resident cat who walked around freely.

It was so cute.

We ordered randomly to shared.

Ginseng Soup KHR10,000 (works out to be around S$3.50)

Spring Rolls KHR6,500 ( around S$2.15)

Fried Rice KHR9,000 (about S$3.00)

Mushroom BBQ KHR5,000 (S$1.65)

Some noodles, missed out the price >.<

Totally forgotten what fritters this was, but generally good.

Some stir fried veg.

Mint soda I think.

Though the serving staffs gotten a bit confused with our big group, I won't mind to come back again for the guilt free nice food and comfortable ambiance.

After dinner went Temple Mini Mart along Sok San Road but couldn't find the pork floss sticks I wanted.  The mini mart wasn't mini when it comes to selection of liquors and alcohol.  According to my sis she said it's relatively cheap.

You might like to check it out, it's about 5mins walk from Pub Street, walk straight along Sok San Road, it's quite big and you wouldn't miss it.

Day 4 was mainly trekking and visiting of other ancient temples other then Angkor Wat.  Didn't seem to capture any stunning photos (I think I forever not happy with my photo skills lolxx..).  If you guys don't mind, will be working on the post to share my experience ;)   Every post view is an acknowledgement and encouragement, thanks for popping by.